International travel with a 4-month old: travel essentials
We recently went to Costa Rica for about two weeks with our four month old daughter. While late night Amazon orders and last minute Target runs have saved me more than once at home, there were no delivery options and no Target-like stores where we were staying in the jungle. Needless to say, there was little room for error while packing!
Travel days
We had a long travel day getting to our destination. Door to door it was about 16 hours because we had a layover (two flights plus a three hour car ride to get to our final destination). Thankfully on the way home we had a direct flight, but the day was still felt like a marathon.
Here are some items that made the travel days seamless.
Nourishment
Pre-baby I would have grabbed a granola bar and said “let’s wing it” for food throughout the day (which of course would have ended with overpriced, underwhelming, and unhealthy airport meals). However, as a breastfeeding mom just winging it was not in the cards. I’ve been prioritizing nourishment and while it’s easy to slip up on travel days, I knew my body and energy levels would suffer.
I started the (very early) morning out with Fond bone broth, an organic banana, two pieces of Ezekiel bread toast, and my usual vitamins and minerals.
I packed granola balls (MadeGood, the ingredients aren’t perfect but they are decent), Chomps and PaleoValley meatsticks (great source of quick grass-fed beef when in a pinch), and organic trail mix to keep myself fueled throughout the day.
Best tops for breastfeeding in public
My comfort breastfeeding in public has gotten much higher (pura vida), especially when I realized my discomfort was stemming from making OTHER people feel uncomfortable.
Some tops that made it a breeze:
Kindred Bravely tank: I basically wore these every day of the trip and will continue to wear these at home in the summer. Overall, pretty discrete for travel days. Add a large cardigan or kimono over it for extra coverage.
Aerie nursing tank: really easy if you like the clip/unclip option, made from (mostly) cotton, and affordable. I ordered a M (probably should have gone with a large) and this was a little too revealing for my own preferences, but otherwise recommend!
Burt’s Bees Cozy Canopy nursing cover: made from 100% organic cotton, breathable, and really cute (would wear this with jeans even when not breastfeeding). Provides the most coverage, but it is not easy to wear with a backpack on your back and if you have a squirmy baby like me, I found myself swimming in this a bit. You also need to be able to latch your baby with one hand and/or while not looking, which can also make this tough to use.
And wear pants with pockets. No brainer!
Transporting frozen milk
Since we would be away for ~2 weeks, I wanted to bring some frozen milk just in case I were to get sick and had a supply drop and/or I was going to be at a workshop that was longer than a few hours. I ended up using this Yeti cooler with three ice packs (2 small, 1 medium). It’s an investment, but I figured it was the best shot at keeping the milk frozen for 14+ hours, and it did. Win!
Branch Basics Travel Kit (cleaning supplies on the go)
I want to shout from the rooftops that everyone should use Branch Basics in general. It is a non-toxic cleaning solution that is as simple as it is effective. They have a travel kit and you can simply use the concentrate combined with water to refill any product if you run out. I always have the foaming soap on hand for travel days. You can use this to wash your hands, face, your baby, would work on clothes if your baby has a blowout, pump parts, to clean surfaces in public restrooms, the list goes on.
Diaper bag
I got a “roughin it” diaper bag from Target that I wouldn’t mind getting muddy, sandy, sticky, etc. while we were away. This was a bit smaller than my usual bag and I needed to be super strategic especially since it was my “personal item” for the plane. Packed this to the brim with easy access to my toothbrush/toothpaste, snacks, water, and our passports. While I wish this had more pockets, the two pouches in the front helped keep us organized and it comes with a portable mat for on the go diaper changes. Would not recommend this for an everyday bag, but it worked well for the trip.
Don’t forget disposable bags for dirty diapers! We had some extra doggie bags and they worked great.
Baby carrier / car seat / stroller
We brought the Artipoppe carrier and carried our daughter throughout the airport. Best way to keep two hands free. Can’t say enough good things about the Artipoppe (it is worth the investment). We chose not to bring a car seat and brought an inexpensive umbrella stroller that we could ditch there if needed. We were staying somewhere that required a bit of climbing to get to, so we knew we would only use a stroller a handful of times because it would need to be carried to the main road first. We had a ~3 hour car ride and just held our daughter in our laps. I wasn’t thrilled about this, but also didn’t want to have yet another thing to keep track of with the car seat that generally wouldn’t be used.
Fanny pack — maybe the best travel hack yet. I have a matching fanny pack with the carrier. Highly recommend this! It can hold your phone, burp cloth, and other tiny essentials you need easy access to. It generally looks like it is part of the carrier and therefore didn’t count as a personal item.
Happy travels!